Data Visualization to Gain More Value From Big Data

17 June 2014 by Steve Leung in Analytics
Much of the vast potential associated with big data lies in its ability to allow executives to make better business decisions grounded in quantitative insight rather than past experience or intuition. However, merely handing over reports or spreadsheets, populated with the numerical results of analyses of large volumes of data from disparate data sets, often falls short of exploiting the opportunities.

Take the Guesswork Out of Analytics 

That’s according to a research report from Accenture that notes the importance of data visualization in presenting the insights uncovered from big data in a way that allows better interpretation.
“The results are not just the numbers on the report; they are also the decisions and assumptions that were baked in along the way,” according to the report. “These complete results require a debate that, currently, many executives cannot participate in because they have not been presented with the necessary information in an understandable format.”
In contrast, data visualization provides a common language for executives, functional leads, and data scientists to rally around to more effectively use data to gain and retain customers, improve product and service offerings, identify untapped markets, and take other actions to bolster the bottom line.
“Experience shows that companies can achieve better results by combining business acumen with qualitative information gleaned from analytical tools,” the report notes. “If used correctly, data visualization can help remove barriers to data comprehension by providing a shared language that simplifies complex issues and increases mutual understanding —no matter how big the big data becomes.”

Take These Steps to Gain More Value From Big Data:

• Make data widely available across the company. “Every hour spent hunting down an orphan database is hurting the return on investment of your analytics team.”
• Provide analytics teams with collaboration tools to share their results with business users and build on their prior successes.
• Arm employees with data visualization tools. “Although it may be tempting to require employees to use legacy software, the right business intelligence or visual analytics tool for the right job will pay dividends in efficiency.”
• Add employees with a design background to analytics teams to boost data visualization.